Do you know about VAWA?
By Melissa Erlbaum, CWS Executive Director
VAWA is the Violence Against Women Act. Keep reading. It is important to know for your daughters, wife, sisters, niece, and friends. Women, men and children are literally losing their lives, running out of hope and hiding from the domestic terrorism occurring in their own home. In fact, in the past two years over 120 Oregonians have lost their lives at the hands of domestic and sexual violence.
The Violence Against Women Act has been a true bipartisan success story since it was first enacted in 1994, reauthorized in 2000 and in 2005 and it now hangs in the balance again. As I write this the VAWA is now awaiting passage in the House of Representatives after being supported by the U.S. Senate. That means there is still time to communicate with your representatives. This is too important to ignore. Lives depend on it. Though reasonable minds can differ on specific issues, debate complex nuances and engage in reasonable discourse, reauthorizing VAWA should be a matter of bipartisan principle.
VAWA funded programs have helped thousands of people end the cycle of violence, protect their children, and heal from trauma. Did you know that VAWA develops and supports comprehensive, cost-effective responses to the pervasive and insidious crimes of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence? It has single handedly been the driving factor in our nation’s improvement in addressing these prevalent crimes.
The National Network to End Domestic Violence states:
“VAWA not only saves lives, it saves money. In its first six years alone, VAWA saved taxpayers at least $12.6 billion in net averted social costs. A recent study found that civil protection orders saved one state (Kentucky) on average $85 million in a single year.”
Perhaps the most important reason you will chose to support VAWA is the message it sends to the community. Domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault thrive in silence and these crimes rely on silence to take hold in our homes, in your community in your children’s school. Passing VAWA sends a message- we take these crimes seriously, no women, child or man deserves to be abused and we are undivided on this issue.
Please support VAWA. It is not something we should take for granted. We need to do what we can to continue to raise awareness and not assume that because VAWA was in effect in the past, that it will be passed again. While the United States has come a long way in meeting the needs of victims, there remains a significant gap between funding and the demand for services. As more and more victims courageously come to places like CWS to request services to escape from life threatening situations, it is essential that their needs are met…that their voices are heard.
This Huffington Post article states:
“On average, four to five women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends each day in the United States as a result of domestic violence. Over 200,000 people are sexually assaulted each year in this country.”
Speak up. Let your voice be heard.